Thresholds

BY ALLISON GAUDETT PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

Spring Decor Refresh for $100

Refreshing decor with the seasons can feel like a daunting unachievable luxury. The expense itself can be enough to opt out. At Home has some ideas for you where you can refresh your space for $100 or less!

The overall mood of your home can shift by simply swapping in accessories appropriate to the season’s pallet in a mix of new, thrifted, and DIY refresh finds full of personality and at approachable price points.

TABLE CLOTH OR RUNNER $4.00 Textile patterns and colour-ways are often the jumping-off inspiration for interior transformations. In this case, rather than doing a full reupholster or long term commitment piece, a table cloth or runner can easily be swapped in and out for substantial visual impact on a budget.

PILLOW COVERS $4.00 PAIR Decorative pillows pack a lot of personality punch and are easy to swap out. Save yourself the expense of new inserts, and the storage space, by replacing only the covers.

SWEET HELLO OR GOOD-BYE Candies $2.50 + Household Dishware A highlight with every season when visiting Gran is the candy dish. Why not incorporate your own but in a pastel pallet for a sweet thoughtful surprise?

PRINTABLE ART $17.00 for 2 By changing out art in an existing frame there is minimal cost incurred while the impact is dramatic – I have gathered a set for each season.

TABLESCAPE HACK $12.00 for 2 packs Hosting can range from simple setting to elaborate depending on your mood and timeline. In a pinch, a monochromatic setting can be elevated with a pop of pattern or themed napkin.

CHEEKY ACCESSORIES $2.00 Accessories are a great opportunity to highlight your personality and add a hint of the unexpected. Decorating is meant to be fun after all!

WREATH $20.00 Your exterior welcome can set the tone for your curb appeal and impacts how you feel each time you traffic through. Don’t overlook the opportunity to brighten your own day on repeat.

The North Shore PLANT STAND $5.00 + Leftover Paint Plants themselves bring life to every space, but don’t overlook the opportunity to add whimsy on the surface beneath. A quick coat of paint can transform drab or used to fresh!

FUNCTION $18.00 Self care isn’t always found at a spa. For some, enhancing a work environment or family command centre with special stationary or accessories can infuse unexpected inspiration. Treat yourself!

SINK-SIDE ACCESSORIES $10.00 Set Enhance your dishwashing experience or transform your bathroom aesthetic by swapping out a few accessories - dish/hand towels can offer a playful ode to the season.

Price Breakdown

Vintage Table Cloth 4.00 Pillow Covers 4.00 2x Printable Art 17.00 Salt and Pepper Set 2.00 Plant Stand Refresh 5.00 Wreath 20.00 Dish Towels 10.00 Two Napkin Packs 12.00 File Folders 18.00 Sugar Bowl Treats 2.50

QUALITY HOUSEPLANTS INDOOR / OUTDOOR GARDENING HOME DECOR - GIFTS

FORGE HOME AND GARDEN

199 PROVOST STREET, DOWNTOWN NEW GLASGOW 902-755-6140

MODERN MOVES AND

BY CRYSTAL MURRAY PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

You might say that it was serendipity that led Andrew and Cindy Blair back to the town of Pictou. The couple had lived almost all of their 25 years of marriage on Vancouver Island, but with the freedom that comes with retirement in sight they started to explore the idea of moving back to Andrew’s ancestral home on the east coast. Cindy, a retired nurse who grew up in BC was game for a change of scenery and had been charmed by a visit to the town a number of years ago. Andrew, still working as an aerial surveyor could live anywhere close to an airport, felt the pull back to family. But an extensive property search had not yielded the results they had hoped for. The one caveat was for a property zoned for two dwellings as Cindy’s sister would be making the move with them but wanted her own space. They had all but thrown in the towel when Cindy decided to take one more look at the real estate listings when everything fell into place.

Andrew still shakes his head when he thinks that the home he and Cindy live in today is built on a piece of property that was left undeveloped for more than fifty years. As a boy he walked by the treed lot that nestled in between two stately homes in the town’s west end on his way to elementary school. By the time Andrew was ten his family had moved to Harve Boucher. He went directly into the military from high school and only returned to Pictou for visits. He met Cindy

“I think that the greatest joy in this house

is the way it makes people feel when they walk into it.

It’s just so fun!”

when she was working as a nurse on a military base in Manitoba and they moved to British Columbia the year they were married.

The move east was an opportunity for Cindy, who has a love for design, to start with a clean slate. Andrew calls her “Cindy Lou the Design Guru.” The couple had built and sold several homes over the years, but each project was approached with re-sale in mind and designed and decorated with a universal appeal. Her attention to detail and ability to bring a cohesiveness to the entire house design meant that new buyers wanted to keep all of the house contents. Andy only slightly jokes when he said they came to Nova Scotia with only his golf clubs.

While the property search took some time the design and construction of the new home moved quickly.

Andrew, Cindy and fur baby Panda, are all smiles in their revved up retro kitchen. Andrew gives all the cred to his wife who he knicknames Cindy Lou Design Guru. The kitchen features replica appliances and lots of polished chrome to bring on the full retro experience.

Andrew wanted his cousin Kevin Slaunwhite, a local contractor, to build their new home. As luck would have it, Kevin, who is usually booked several years out, had an opening. Andrew and Cindy had a good idea of their design concept and quickly completed plans with a Nova Scotia house designer.

They purchased the property in March of 2018 and April of that same year they broke ground to build their 1,500-squarefoot rancher with an attached garage and 600-square-foot guest house, almost an exact representation of the main structure. Seven months later Cindy and Andrew had officially moved from Vancouver Island to Pictou and were settling into the new home with a modern twist on vintage style. There is no question that Cindy and Andrew Blair didn’t fully invest themselves in capturing an unmistakable vintage vibe for their new home in Pictou. A step through the threshold of their front door is a step back in time. The sleek farmhouse is hardwired for modern efficiencies and dialed in to the mid-century style that could make a set designer for Mad Men envious.

“Someone told us that our oven looks like a 1950s Chev married a jukebox,” laughs Cindy as she pours tea into a vintage cup. “I think that the greatest joy in this house is the way it makes people feel when they walk into it. It’s just so fun!”

While Cindy carried the retro vibe through the entire home, it’s the kitchen that is the real showstopper with mint green vintage-inspired appliances, a checkerboard chrome set, authentic Bakelite dishes and pops of colour that were the hallmarks of that period in time.

Although the house is small, the attached garage elongates it to give the effect of a much larger home. It’s set well back on the lot to create curb appeal and give depth to the property. They chose building materials that evoked the farmhouse style while remaining low maintenance and accessible. Cindy was diagnosed with MS a number of years ago. Their plan was mindful of their future and decided to keep the house all one level with wide porches for easy access. The Blairs were ahead of the curve with their anticipation for an accessible home. In September 2019, the province adopted “Adaptable Housing” where every new

TRURO HOME & OUTDOOR SHOW

APRIL 17-19 2020

RATH EASTLINK COMMUNITY CENTRE Truro, Nova Scotia

house built is required to have a provision for accessibility.

While Andrew left most of the design work to Cindy a few areas where he did get involved were with the installation of the outdoor lighting system that comes on at dusk and goes off at dawn according to their longitude and latitude. Remembering the winters of his childhood in Pictou, he also thought it was good planning to have portable generators for both houses.

While they dispensed with the concept of a full basement, Andrew noted that very few homes on Vancouver Island have deep foundations because of the dense bedrock, he says that they did decide to do a heated six-foot-high crawlspace with staircase access in the garage. “It has the same dimension as the house and contains the furnace, hot water tank and auxiliary

What gives off more vintage vibes that a checker board chrome set? The cool retro dining set is made by Anmarcos. The Canadian company has keep the design in production for more than 70 years. Mint green will get you back to your retro roots. Replica appliances can be sourced in a variety of colours. Cindy chose the pretty pastel to set the tone for the décor period. Neutral walls left room for a lot of groovy colour that is embraced with the mid-century modern style. The Sputnik clock on the wall speaks to an era that was fascinated by the atomic age that emerged in the 1950s. The floor-to-ceiling tiled feature wall brings modern technology of an electric fire place and flat screen TV.

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Cindy is always on the hunt for retro pieces to amp up her décor. She has a mix of replica pieces like this turn table that has blue tooth capabilities and a growing collection of authentic Bakelite and vintage dishware.

Eat

Play

Stay

The North Shore water pump. I am happy that we did go for a bigger crawl space as the home does not have much storage,” says Cindy. Inside, Cindy wanted little rooms but, on house designer’s advice, added a 16-foot vaulted ceiling in the living room to make space for a dramatic, tiled fireplace. Before the house was built Cindy started picking up décor elements that she knew would tie into her vision. The Sputnik clock and mirror in the living room both nod to the era. Authentic vintage finds and artwork also pull from the period.

“Some of the best and most timeless designs come from this era. This was a happy time in the years after World War II. There was a lot of colour in the 50s. They used neutrals as the base but then added colour in way that we don’t use colour today. It’s very cheerful!

Cindy is still on the hunt for authentic period pieces that tell the story of this design era. She recently swapped out her headboard for a more glamorous pink velvet that pops off the horizontal black-and-white striped wall in their bedroom and she is working on her collection of retro Christmas decorations for seasonality in her theme.

With a new build in a small town there continues to be curiosity about the Blair’s home in a neighbourhood planted with historic homes. She says one of the best compliments she receives is when people ask if the home had always been there. “We wanted the house to look like it belonged. We looked at roof lines from neighbouring houses and gave thought to many of the traditional elements. When I

first came to visit 20 years ago I was charmed by the simplicity of the white siding and black shutters, you don’t see that out west.”

Now that the dust has settled from the build, Cindy and Andrew are also settling into a new life in Pictou County. Andrew has his sights set on retirement and spending time getting re-acquainted with the extended family that lured him back to Pictou. Cindy admits that once the excitement of the build was over she started to feel a little home sick for the west coast. She says that her sister likely adjusted faster than she did but she is beginning to get her feel for the community. She has already had requests for design consults as word has hit the street about her decorating flair. “I am not sure if I want to run a business but I have no issues sharing ideas,” says Cindy. “But just to keep that option open I have purchased the domain name Cindy-Lou Design Guru. You never know what might happen next!”

Glossy white veneer dressers and side tables with pops of brass and a pink velvet bed frame are part of the 50s-inspired glamour in the principal bedroom.

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